A conference about television and affect, possible subsequent communications among selected participants, and an edited book are proposed. The goal is to stimulate the development of theory and research about television's role as a broad environmental influence on affective development and functioning. The proposed activities are deemed essential to achieving the goal because the area is a complicated one in which the knowledge bases necessary for progress are scattered among researchers in several areas. Such people do not normally come into much contact with each other, and certainly not in situations like those proposed which are conducive to sustained and creative thought. Twelve people are suggested as participants. Their areas of expertise include theories of affect, affective expression, and affective development; social learning theory; social cognition and social cognitive development; clinical psychology; television effects; affective and cognitive responses to television content; entertainment and affect; and affective responses to children's literature. Several are experienced in development efforts such as the proposed one, and all have established records for contributing to developments in their fields. At the conference, in both prepared presentations and open discussion, they will consider the various contexts in which emotion is experienced and/or learned about; theoretical conceptualizations of the processes of evoking, understanding, and interpreting emotions during and after television viewing; effects of television content on emotional knowledge and experience; the significance of experiencing affect in a context like television viewing; and entertainment as affective experience. Subsequent writing will be guided by developments at the conference. Through these activities, participants will be able to provide the theoretical structures and research plans necessary for progress in understanding the affective import of so pervasive, life-like, emotionally arousing, undemanding, and gratifying experience as is television viewing.